The Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk, England, is set to receive a Direct Air Capture (DAC) system to actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere. This move is part of the UK’s efforts to become carbon neutral. Currently, there are only 15 DAC facilities worldwide, which together remove 9,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere annually. However, experts predict that by 2023, almost 10 megatons of CO2 will be extracted from the air each year. The Sizewell C nuclear power plant could play a significant role in achieving this goal, as its operators plan to integrate a system for capturing, storing, and processing CO2 in Block C, which is set to be built soon. The aim is to create a carbon-positive power plant with a negative CO2 balance.
The DAC technology is based on a chemical filter that removes CO2 from the air as it passes through. The necessary heat and electricity will be provided by the nuclear power plant, according to EDF, the parent company of British Energy, which operates the Sizewell C plant. The project involves not only the power plant operator but also companies such as Strata, Atkins, and Doosan Babcock, as well as scientists from the University of Nottingham. To demonstrate the technology, the project will use a small DAC system that can remove up to 100 tonnes of CO2 per year. If the full capacity of Sizewell C is utilized, the technology could remove 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 from the air annually. The project also plans to produce hydrogen at the Sizewell site, which could be used to create synthetic fuel together with the filtered CO2.
The UK government supports the project, seeing it as an opportunity to make the country carbon neutral. According to EDF, CO2 capture is essential to offset emissions from other sectors such as aviation and agriculture. However, the current challenge with CO2 capture from the air is the low concentration of CO2 compared to industrial emissions, making the cost of the process high, ranging from $100 to $1,000 per tonne of CO2. Despite this, the Sizewell C nuclear power plant’s integration of a DAC system could be a significant step towards achieving carbon neutrality in the UK.
